The results of the Human Genome Project, and the gene sequences of other organisms, have provided a wealth of detailed genetic information. If the structures of the proteins associated with each gene were known, the impact in such areas as protein engineering, recombinant DNA technology and gene therapy could be enormous and therefore the Protein Structural Initiative has been established. This application proposes a new technology platform for the rapid crystallization of proteins based on providing a chemically tailored surface within a microscale vessel, addressing the need to crystallize proteins at a rate commensurate to that at which crystallographic data collection/reduction is now performed. These devices will be used to determine protein crystallization conditions using sub-microliter amounts of material, rapidly investigating a large number of experiments designed to probe vast areas of parametric crystallization space. Using standard photolithographic techniques, combined with a novel deposition technique, surfaces composed of organic, inorganic, biological, metallic, polymeric, combinations of these surfaces, or other types of surface will be prepared and investigated regarding protein crystallization efficacy. This novel technology could allow the crystallization of proteins at an unprecedented rate as well as provide fundamental information about the primary nucleation events associated with protein crystallization. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE